Creating a World Without Boundaries

By: Amy Millington, President of eBay Foundation

eBay Foundation’s new video experience highlights its partnership with Kolabo and the stories of three of Kolabo’s small business clients.

Now more than ever, we see the power of an interconnected world to create more opportunity for more people. Through The Opportunity Project, a strategic initiative of eBay Foundation, we support social entrepreneurs who have technology solutions that help small businesses grow, increase the number of quality jobs, and expand access to affordable goods and services. We do so because we believe that when provided with the right tools and opportunities, people can improve their livelihoods and break the cycle of poverty – and we know there’s nothing more powerful than an entrepreneur with a systems-changing idea to make this vision a reality.

In 2013, we announced our support of Kolabo, a social enterprise founded by Andy Dwonch and incubated out of Mercy Corps, that helps entrepreneurs in Indonesia bring their businesses online for the first time. Only five percent of Indonesia’s 50 million small businesses have a digital presence, but Internet usage has seen explosive growth. Almost a third of Indonesian consumers, 71 million people, have regular Internet access, giving businesses a unique opportunity to own their digital reputation and develop a competitive edge. Kolabo is helping small businesses capitalize on this opportunity by providing them with them with affordable technology and resources to create and maintain their online presence.

With our seed funding and skilled employee volunteer support, Kolabo launched in 2014. In just a year, they’ve helped more than 200 small businesses create their first websites and access digital marketing services that drive traffic to their sites and customers to their doors. This is important because, as we’ve seen from eBay’s 20-year history, this seemingly small action can have transformative impact on their customer reach and revenue-earning potential – which in turn generates other powerful economic and social outcomes.

To celebrate and share our impact to date, we’ve launched an immersive video experience. We invite you to travel with us to Jakarta to experience our partnership with Kolabo for yourself. Step into the life of Andy Dwonch, and meet three of Kolabo’s small business clients. Through a series of video vignettes, learn more about their challenges and their hopes for the future. And imagine a world in which every person, regardless of their individual circumstances, is able to reach their full potential.

To learn more about The Opportunity Project and eBay Foundation’s portfolio of partners and projects, visit The Opportunity Project site. Please share the video experience with your friends and followers, and let us know what you think.